As much as I take a near-term bullish stance, we need to have these conversations about Apple's long-term prospects. They're relevant; in fact, I started them when everybody else was bullish back in April 2011 .

It's not that the WSJ headline isn't correct; that's exactly what's happening. Insanely, nobody seems to know what to think about AAPL. That's why, if you're a long-term investor and not a nimble trader (like the people you watch on "Fast Money" everyday), you absolutely should not own AAPL at this juncture. (See the video at the top of this article).

There's no right answer, but we've tipped the scales too close to the let's consider Apple within the context of the unrealistic expectations it -- and its lack of competition -- set for itself .

Simply stated, Apple deserves more breathing room. We give Jeff Bezos and Amazon.com (AMZN) serious benefit of the doubt. That's because investors see less uncertainty in Amazon as it sets itself up for the long term. Understood. I support the thesis. However, I do not buy the notion that Amazon is a 3,000-to-11 favorite -- using each stock's price-to-earnings ratio -- over Apple.

Now, let it be known, I don't treat valuation metrics like old school market guys. In fact, I no longer think valuation when I see a P/E. I think confidence. How much confidence do investors have in the company's ability to maintain its present and anticipated pace of growth for the foreseeable future? From there, I assess the company's strategic-competitive position to see if I can have the same level of confidence.